Serve This Paella When You Care To Spend The Very Most

June 01, 1989|By Jeanne Jones.

In my opinion, paella is the single most important culinary contribution from Spain. Savory saffron-flavored rice is always the basis for this traditional one-dish meal, but other ingredients vary a bit depending from what region of Spain the recipe comes.

Saffron, an essential ingredient in paella, often is difficult to find and always is expensive. I suggest looking for saffron in a gourmet market. Serve paella on a very special occasion-when you care enough to spend the very most!

SHELLFISH PAELLA

Preparation time: 30 minutes

Cooking time: 1 1/2 hours

Yield: 8 servings

To clean clams, place in a large bowl and cover with cold water which has been mixed with 2 tablespoons salt. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons cornmeal over the top. Refrigerate for 3 to 12 hours. Drain and rinse well with clean water.

3. Remove from oven and stir in raw scallops, peas and pimientos. Turn oven off and return paella to oven to keep warm while cooking the shrimp and clams. Do not leave in oven more than 5 minutes. Steam the clams and shrimp until the clams open and the shrimp turns from translucent to opaque, about 2 to 3 minutes. Do not overcook. Return any unopened clams to steamer and continue to steam until they open.

4. To serve, spoon 1 1/4 cups of the rice mixture onto each of 8 plates and top each serving with a shrimp and a clam or add the shrimp and clams to the rice mixture in the paella pan and place it in the center of the table and let your guests help themselves.

Q-Dear Jeanne: This Dutch apple pie recipe is one of my attempts to reduce the calories and cholesterol in a favorite recipe. I`ve had raves about my version, but I`m curious to know if you can cut anything else out to make it even more healthful.

1. Heat oven to 375 degrees. Prepare crust with graham-cracker crumbs and butter or margarine. Press firmly in bottom and sides of a 9-inch pie pan. Bake on baking sheet about 5 minutes; remove from oven.

2. Prepare filling. Mix well and place in crust. (You might find it easier to layer the slices instead of just dumping them in the crust.)

3. Prepare crumb topping. Sprinkle evenly over the apple mixture. Bake on baking sheet until top is golden and filling is bubbling, about 50 minutes. Cool on wire rack. Serve at room temperature.

Thanks again for doing the world a service.

Susan Smith,

Suffern, N.Y.

A-Dear Susan: Since you already have made some good changes in your recipe, my job was a little easier. However, I was able to achieve a significant reduction in the bottom line figures with a few adjustments of my own.

I first tried to make this pie with only 1/3 cup crumbs and 1 tablespoon margarine in the crust. The resulting pie tasted fine, but when compared to your version, the crust looked too skimpy, so I increased the margarine and crumbs. I also was able to reduce the amount of brown sugar by adding some apple juice concentrate, increasing the cinnamon and adding vanilla to increase the perceived level of sweetness.

2. Mix all filling ingredients together and place in crust. It is easier to layer the slices instead of dumping them into the crust.

3. Mix the topping ingredients together with a fork until crumbly. Sprinkle evenly over the apple mixture. Bake on a cookie sheet until top is golden and filling is bubbling, about 50 minutes. If pie looks like it is drying out on top, cover with foil while baking. Cool on wire rack. Serve at room temperature.